UN CONFERENCE FOR THE NEGOTIATION OF A
SUCCESSOR AGREEMENT TO THE INTERNATIONAL TROPICAL TIMBER AGREEMENT,
1994, FOURTH PART:

16-27 JANUARY 2006

The
fourth part of the United Nations Conference for the Negotiation of a
Successor Agreement to the International Tropical Timber Agreement, 1994
(ITTA, 1994) will convene at the Palais des Nations in Geneva,
Switzerland, from 16-27 January 2006. The Conference, held under the
auspices of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD),
will focus on resolving issues left outstanding at the end of ITTA-3,
including financial arrangements, scope of the agreement, and voting
structure. Negotiations will be based on the final working document from
the third part of the Conference (TD/Timber.3/L.6), which concluded on 1
July 2005. The goal of the fourth part of the Conference is to reach
consensus and adopt a successor agreement, as the current agreement,
expires at the end of 2006.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE UN CONFERENCE AND
ITTA

The
International Tropical Timber Agreement (ITTA) was negotiated under
UNCTAD’s auspices to: provide an effective framework for cooperation and
consultation between countries producing and consuming tropical timber;
promote the expansion and diversification of international trade in
tropical timber and the improvement of structural conditions in the
tropical timber market; promote and support research and development to
improve forest management and wood utilization; and encourage
development of national policies for sustainable utilization and
conservation of tropical forests and their genetic resources and for
maintaining ecological balance in the regions concerned.

The
ITTA was adopted on 18 November 1983, and entered into force on 1 April
1985. It remained in force for an initial period of five years and was
extended twice for three-year periods. The Agreement was renegotiated
during 1993-1994. The successor agreement, ITTA, 1994, was adopted on 26
January 1994, and entered into force on 1 January 1997. It contains
broader provisions for information sharing, including non-tropical
timber trade data, allows for consideration of non-tropical timber
issues as they relate to tropical timber, and includes the Year 2000
Objective to enhance members’ capacity to implement a strategy for
achieving exports of tropical timber and timber products from
sustainably managed sources by the year 2000. The ITTA, 1994 also
established the Bali Partnership Fund to assist producing members in
achieving the Year 2000 Objective. Initially concluded for three years,
the ITTA, 1994 was extended twice for three-year periods and is
scheduled to expire on 31 December 2006.

The
ITTA, 1983 established the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO),
headquartered in Yokohama, Japan, which provides a framework for
tropical timber producer and consumer countries to discuss, exchange
information and develop policies on issues relating to international
trade in, and utilization of, tropical timber and the sustainable
management of its resource base. The ITTO also administers assistance
for related projects. The ITTO has 59 members divided into two caucuses:
producer countries (33 members) and consumer countries (26 members). The
ITTO’s membership represents 90 percent of world trade in tropical
timber and 80 percent of the world’s tropical forests. The highest
authority of the ITTO is the International Tropical Timber Council (ITTC),
which consists of all ITTO members and meets twice per year. The ITTC
performs, or arranges for the performance of, all functions necessary to
carry out the provisions of the ITTA, 1994.

WORKING GROUP ON THE PREPARATIONS FOR NEGOTIATING A SUCCESSOR AGREEMENT
TO THE ITTA, 1994: The Working Group met in Bern, Switzerland, from
7-11 April 2003. Participants reviewed responses by ITTO member
countries on various aspects of the negotiation of a successor agreement
to ITTA, 1994, including: the new agreement’s scope; the organization,
duration and frequency of Council sessions; issues related to the
Secretariat’s work; funding mechanisms; and arrangements for the
Preparatory Committee. It also considered new and emerging issues
relevant to the ITTC and ITTO’s relationship with other international
organizations.

PREPCOM I: Immediately following the 34th session of the ITTC,
PrepCom I convened in Panama City, Panama, from 20-21 May 2003, to begin
preparing a draft working document to be used as the basis of the
negotiations on the successor agreement to the ITTA, 1994.

INTERSESSIONAL WORKING GROUP ON PREPARATIONS FOR NEGOTIATING A SUCCESSOR
AGREEMENT TO THE ITTA, 1994: The Intersessional Working Group on
preparations for negotiating a successor agreement to the ITTA, 1994
convened in Curitiba, Brazil, from 25-29 August 2003. The working group,
inter alia: assessed the distribution and role of conifers in
international trade; reviewed ITTO work on non-timber forest products (NTFPs)
and non-timber forest values (NTFVs); assessed the extent to which NTFPs,
environmental services and NTFVs are covered in the ITTA, 1994, and how
these could be strengthened in the successor agreement; proposed
preambular language for the successor agreement; developed a list of
overarching objectives and definitions; and prepared a work plan for
PrepCom II.

PREPCOM II: Immediately following ITTC-35, delegates met in
Yokohama, Japan, from 10-12 November 2003, for PrepCom II. Over the
course of the three-day PrepCom, delegates reviewed the successor
agreement draft working document with a view to clarifying its elements,
posing questions and presenting their views on the text. Delegates
produced a final draft working document to serve as the basis for
discussion at the UN Conference for the Negotiation of a Successor
Agreement to the ITTA, 1994.

UN
CONFERENCE FOR THE NEGOTIATION OF A SUCCESSOR AGREEMENT TO ITTA, 1994,
FIRST PART: The UN Conference for the Negotiation of a Successor
Agreement to the ITTA, 1994, First Part, met at the Palais des Nations
in Geneva, Switzerland, from 26-30 July 2004, under the auspices of
UNCTAD. Throughout the week, delegates based their discussions on the
working document (TD/TIMBER.3/4), which contained all articles of the
ITTA, 1994 alongside the corresponding articles of the negotiating text
of the successor agreement. Working Group I addressed the Preamble,
Chapter I (Objectives), Chapter II (Definitions), Chapter III
(Organization and Administration), and Chapter IV (International
Tropical Timber Council). Working Group II addressed Chapter V
(Privileges and Immunities), Chapter VI (Finance), Chapter VII
(Operational Activities), Chapter VIII (Relationship with the Common
Fund for Commodities), Chapter IX (Statistics, Studies and Information),
Chapter X (Miscellaneous), and Chapter XI (Final Provisions). Two
contact groups, one established by each working group, met
intermittently throughout the week to discuss some of the successor
agreement’s more contentious issues. Since negotiators were unable to
reach a final agreement, they decided that the negotiation would
reconvene in Geneva, Switzerland, from 14-18 February 2005. The main
areas of disagreement involved the financial structure of the new
agreement and its objectives. Some members sought a limited number of
broad objectives, while others sought to list specific objectives. On
finance, the main issue of contention was the addition of an assessed
Work Programme Account.

UN
CONFERENCE FOR THE NEGOTIATION OF A SUCCESSOR AGREEMENT TO ITTA, 1994,
SECOND PART: The UN Conference for the Negotiation of a Successor
Agreement to the ITTA, 1994, Second Part, convened at the Palais des
Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, from 14-18 February 2005. During the
week, delegates discussed numerous proposals to resolve issues from the
first part of the UN Conference, but were unable to reach agreement on a
number of cross-cutting proposals on the new agreement’s scope and
financial arrangement.

UN
CONFERENCE FOR THE NEGOTIATION OF A SUCCESSOR AGREEMENT TO ITTA, 1994,
THIRD PART: The UN Conference for the Negotiation of a Successor
Agreement to the ITTA, 1994, Third Part, convened at the Palais des
Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, from 27 June to 1 July 2005. Although
delegates made some progress resolving outstanding issues, and reached
agreement on over twenty articles, they were unable to reach agreement
on core elements: the agreementï¿½s scope, objectives, financial
arrangements, and voting calculations.

INTERSESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

ITTC-39: The thirty-ninth session of the ITTC and associated
sessions of the Committees convened in Yokohama, Japan, from 7-12
November 2005. Participants discussed pressing issues including,
inter alia: the ITTO Biennial Work Programme for 2006-2007;
negotiation of a successor agreement; ITTO Objective 2000; and phased
approaches to certification. Delegates approved 11 projects, one
pre-project, and committed US$13.3 million in project funds. Delegates
also convened in an informal joint producer/consumer group meeting on
the renegotiation of ITTA, 1994 to discuss, inter alia: the
placement of references to NTFPï¿½s and ecosystem services; the proposed
funding schemes for the Administrative and Work Programme Sub-accounts;
and the number of key policy work activities funded through assessed
contributions.

SCOPING FOR A FUTURE AGREEMENT ON FORESTS: Over 186 experts from 87
countries and over 20 organizations and institutions gathered in Berlin,
Germany, from 16-18 November 2005, to participate in a country-led
initiative (CLI) in support of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF).
The meeting, co-sponsored by Switzerland, Austria, Germany, and the
Global Mechanism of the Convention to Combat Desertification, met with a
view to building consensus regarding an international agreement on
forests prior to UNFF-6. Participants, speaking in their personal
capacities, considered: the merits of developing a legally-binding,
versus voluntary instrument, implementation and means of implementation,
and the pros and cons of a regional approach. Cross-cutting issues
identified included: increasing the political importance of forests;
avoiding duplication of efforts; improving access to financial
resources; and increasing capacity. The CLI produced a report which will
be forwarded to the UNFF Secretariat prior to UNFF-6.

THE
EUROPE AND NORTH ASIA FOREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AND GOVERNANCE MINISTERIAL
CONFERENCE: ENAFLEG, held in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation,
from 22-25 November 2005, brought together over 250 ministers,
government representatives, intergovernmental and non-governmental
organizations and research agencies from 48 countries, with the
objective of improving law enforcement and governance and curtailing
illegal logging in the European and North Asian forest sectors.
Delegates discussed how to improve the investment climate and private
sector incentives, and how to ensure resource access to local
populations and equity in resource utilization. Ministers endorsed the
St. Petersburg Ministerial Declaration and an Indicative List of
Actions, to affirm political commitment and set a framework for action
to combat illegal logging.

This issue of the Earth Negotiations
Bulletin ï¿½ <enb@iisd.org>
is written and edited by Karen Alvarenga, Ph.D., Deborah
Davenport, Ph.D., Lauren Flejzor, Twig Johnson, Ph.D.,
William McPherson, Ph.D., and Peter Wood. The Digital Editor
is Miles Goldstick, Ph.D. The Editor is Pamela S. Chasek,
Ph.D. <pam@iisd.org>
and the Director of IISD Reporting Services is Langston
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